System for Interactive Participation by Remote Bidders in Live Auctions

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising: receiving, at a computer of a remote bidder, a status message containing real time auction status information regarding a live auction conducted by a human auctioneer in the presence of on-site bidders, said real time auction status information specifying at least a current high bid amount and an asking price for an item being auctioned off by the auctioneer; extracting the high bid amount and the asking price from the status message via execution of a client program running on the computer of the remote bidder, said client program providing functionality for the remote bidder to monitor and participate in the live auction in real time from a location that is remote from a physical location of the live auction, said high bid amount and asking price being specific values that correspond to a current status of the live auction, said asking price exceeding the high bid amount, and being a value specified by a human proxy who attends the auction; updating an auction status screen displayed on the computer of the remote bidder to indicate at least the high bid amount and the asking price extracted from the status message, said auction status screen generated by the client program, and including a display element that is selectable by the remote bidder to submit a bid in the amount of said asking price extracted from the status message such that the remote bidder can participate in real time in the live auction; in response to selection of the display element by the remote bidder, automatically generating, by execution of said client program by the computer of the remote bidder, a bid message representing a bid in the amount of the asking price as extracted from the status message, and transmitting the bid message from the computer of the remote bidder to an auction system, whereby the remote bidder submits said bid without entering a bid amount; and repeating said steps of receiving a status message, extracting the high bid amount and asking price, and updating the auction status screen, as the live auction progresses such that the auction status screen reveals changes in the high bid amount and asking price over time.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, at an intermediate node of the auction system, comparing the bid amount specified in the bid message to a current high bid amount to assess whether the bid is valid, and when the bid is determined to be valid, forwarding the bid message from the intermediate node to an auction server.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, at said computer of the remote bidder, receiving and playing a real time audio broadcast of the live auction to enable the remote bidder to listen to the live auction.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, at said computer of the remote bidder, receiving and playing a real time video broadcast of the live auction to enable the remote bidder to watch the live auction.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the status message contains real time auction status information entered into a computer by said human proxy at the physical location of the live auction.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the status message contains real time auction status information entered into a computer by the auctioneer.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the status message further includes a lot identifier that specifies an auction lot associated with said item.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the high bid amount represents a bid placed by an on-site bidder from a floor of the live auction.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the high bid amount represents a bid placed by a remote bidder via an instance of said client program.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the status message is encrypted, and the step of extracting the high bid amount and the asking price comprises decrypting the status message via execution of the client program on said computer.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method comprises updating the auction status screen within one second of said high bid being accepted by the auctioneer.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method comprises using a TCP/IP protocol to receive the status message at the computer of the remote bidder.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon a client program that provides functionality for a remote bidder to participate via computer in real time in a live auction conducted by a human auctioneer in the presence of on-site bidders, the client program configured to run on a computer operated by the remote bidder, and configured to cause the computer to at least: process status messages received by the computer from an auction system associated with the live auction, said auction status messages including real time auction status information, including information regarding bids accepted by the auctioneer from on-site bidders present at the live auction and including asking prices entered by a human proxy based on communications from the auctioneer; extract the real time auction status information, including the asking prices, from the status messages; update an auction status screen displayed on said computer with the real time auction status information extracted from the status messages such that the remote bidder can monitor the live auction in real time; and provide an option for the remote bidder to submit live bids corresponding to current asking prices associated with the live auction, said option provided on said computer using the asking prices extracted from the status messages such that the remote bidder can, via selection of a display element, submit a bid for the current asking price without having to enter said current asking price, said current asking price exceeding a current high bid amount.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the client program is configured to extract from the status messages, and display on the auction status screen, current high bid amounts and asking price amounts.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the client program is configured to extract auction identifiers and auction lot identifiers from the status messages.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the client program is configured to use a TCP/IP protocol to receive the status messages.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the client program is configured to decrypt the status messages.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the client program includes a connection manager that manages a connection between said computer and said auction system.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the client program additionally provides functionality for the remote bidder to pre-bid on an item before the auctioneer initiates live bidding for the item.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the client program additionally provides functionality for the remote bidder to listen to a real time audio broadcast of the live auction.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the client program additionally provides functionality for the remote bidder to watch a real time video broadcast of the live auction.